Request for Proposal: Bond Counsel Services

August 13th, 2021 /
Shauna Sprunger /
Business, News, Notice to Contractors, Updates/Announcements

Amendment on page 12

Amended due date: 08/25/2021 at 2:00pm

Tina fluehe
Purchasing director
Email: tinaf@provo.edu
Phone: 801-374-4864

Purpose of Request for Proposal (RFP)

Provo city school district (“district”) is requesting proposals from qualified bond counsel firms (“firm”) to serve as bond counsel for the district in the issuance of [describe the expected bond issues] [or] [involving the authorization and issuance of general obligation bonds, lease revenue (mba) bonds, and related legal counsel, services and assistance. Interested respondents are asked to review the “scope of work” defined below, and respond to the questions presented under “proposal response.”

This rfp is designed to provide interested firms with sufficient basic information to submit proposals that meet minimum requirements. However, the rfp is not intended to limit a proposal’s content or exclude any relevant or essential data.

Background

Provo district has a student enrollment of approximately 13,500 students. The district’s [10-year master plan] anticipates the need for [nearly $120 million in repairs to our current schools and other district buildings].

Project Representative

The district representative on this project will be derek andersen. Allquestions should be submitted to dereka@provo.edu or 801-374-4849 at the email address and phone number on the front of this request for proposal.

Length of Contract

The initial term of the contract period shall be for five (3) years with option to renew additional (2) years. The district reserves the right to terminate this agreement at any time with sixty (60) days written notice.

Standard Contract Terms and Conditions

Any contract resulting from this rfp will include but not be limited to the district’s standard terms and conditions (see exhibit a). Exceptions and or additions to the district’s standard terms and conditions are stronglydiscouraged.

Exceptions and additions to the standard terms and conditions must be submitted with the proposal response. Exceptions, additions, service level agreements, etc. Submitted after the date and time for receipt ofproposals will not be considered. Website urls, or information on website urls must not be requested in the rfp document and must not be submitted with a proposal. Urls provided with a proposal may result in that proposal being rejected as non-responsive. Urls are also prohibitedfrom any language included in the final contract document.

The district retains the right to refuse to negotiate on exceptions should the exceptions be excessive, not in the best interest of the district, negotiations could result in excessive costs to the district, or could adversely impact existing time constraints.

If negotiations are required, firms must provide all documents in wordformat for redline editing. Contractor must provide the name, contactinformation, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in negotiations.

Discussions with Offers (Oral Presentation)

An oral presentation by firm to clarify a proposal may be required at the sole discretion of the district. However, the district may award a contract based on the initial proposals received without discussion with firm. Iforal presentations are required, they will be scheduled after the submission of proposals. Oral presentations will be made at the expense of the firm.

Proposal Response Format

All proposals must include:

Provide a brief narrative of your firm.
List the individual who would be assigned to work with the school district and include a brief resume.
List your firm’s utah school district municipal bond counsel work for the last five years.
List the names and contact information for three utah school districts for which your firm has acted as bond counsel over the last three years.

Protected Information

All protected information must be included in this section of proposal response. Do not incorporate protected information throughout the proposal. Rather, provide a reference in the proposal response directing reader to the specific area of this protected informationsection.

Grama provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting aclaim of business confidentiality. A claim of business confidentialitymay be appropriate for information such as client lists and non-public financial statements. Pricing and service elements may not be protected. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your proposal.

Cost Proposal (Separate Document)

Cost will be evaluated independently from the technical proposal (see exhibit b).

Cost is to be submitted as a separate document. Inclusion of anycost or pricing data within the technical proposal may result in your proposal being judged as non- responsive.

Scope of Work

1. Bond counsel. Bond counsel will have all responsibilities, and will provide all services, normally associated with bond counsel for bond issues. These services will likely include, but will not be limited to:

preparing documents necessary or appropriate to the authorization, issuance, sale and delivery of the bond(s);
assisting with the issuance and sale of the bonds;
issuing an opinion as to the legality and validity of the bonds;
issuing an opinion regarding the tax-exempt status of the bonds;
assisting in the preparation and development of a preliminary official statement (“pos”), official statement (“os”), and notice of sale (“nos”) for the bond issue(s);
working in coordination with the financial advisor regarding bond issue(s);
attending to the details of the closings of the bonds, as required;
assisting in presenting information to bond rating organizations and others, if necessary;
attending all meetings required of them and associated with the bond issue(s); and
performing such other duties as are normally and customarily required of bond counsel.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

A committee will evaluate proposals against the following weighted criteria. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in the proposal. Your proposal will be analyzed and you may be requested to meet with a committee of district officials. Proposals, however, may be accepted without oral presentations. The district reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal.

Weight evaluation criteria

Weight	Evaluation Criteria
[30]%	cost proposal
[50] %	bond counsel experience
[15]%	assigned professionals
[5] %	references

Award of Contract

Award shall be made to the firm whose proposal is the most advantageous to the district taking into consideration price and the other evaluation factors set forth in this request for proposals. In the event only one offer is received, the district reserves the right to resubmit the bid.

The district reserves the right to award the contract(s) to a technicallyqualified lower cost firm in the event the high scoring offer is determined to not be the best value offered to the district, based on a cost benefit analysis.